Photo: Getty Images North America
Curious how Miami got its 305 area code?
Miami reps it hard, on clothes, in music, and on social media. The 305 is the most well known area code in the market.
Before the 305 was a Miami exclusive code it was used by all of Florida from the Keys to Tallahassee. It was one of the first 86 area codes in the country, but then, as Florida’s population boomed 305 numbers began to run out, so the North American Numbering Plan Administrator assigned new area codes.
Southwest Florida got 813, North Florida had 904, the 407 was created for Central Florida, Palm Beach County got 561, and Broward was given 954, leaving Miami-Dade and Monroe with 305.
Weeks after the to take Broward out of the 305, two Fort Lauderdale men sued to stop it.
“Broward County, which is a booming oasis, will be turned into a desert, an economic wasteland, a Third World Town,” if it were to lose its 305 status, the suit claimed.
Switchboards and telephone systems in the US and particularly overseas couldn’t process calls to these new area codes, requiring people to upgrade or replace their systems.
Business groups, worried the change would hurt Broward businesses and give Miami-Dade and Monroe counties an unfair advantage with tourists. They called for the commission to reverse its decision. Eventually, a truce was made, and Broward businesses could get a 305 number by paying a monthly fee for remote call forwarding.